Author: NBTC
Tomorrow will be an important day for the cryptocurrency world as smart contracts will be gradually launched on the mainnet of the Stellar (XLM) network. The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) and the general Stellar community have been working hard for the last two years to bring smart contract functionality to the Stellar network. The Stellar Development Foundation and the developers of key Stellar SDKs have announced the release of a comprehensive software package that supports Protocol 20. This protocol will introduce Soroban smart contracts to Stellar. With the technical components now in place, Stellar network validators will vote on the…
In recent days, the Bitcoin (BTC) price has hovered around the $52,000 mark, keeping investors on their toes. Meanwhile, the U.S. equity markets have been surging, with the S&P 500 reaching record highs of 5,000. Year-to-date, the index has already gained 5.54% in 2024, signaling strong performance. S&P 500 Can Rally to 5,200 In a swift turnaround, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists have revised their 2024 target for the S&P 500 Index after the index surged past the significant 5,000 milestone this month. In a recent note to clients, the team, led by David Kostin, highlighted increased profit estimates as…
DeFi Technologies Inc, a company at the forefront of bridging traditional capital markets with decentralized finance (DeFi), has achieved a significant stride in its growth strategy. The company recently announced the successful acquisition of intellectual property (IP) from Stefan Jørgensen, a highly regarded developer in the Solana ecosystem. This move is a crucial part of DeFi Technologies’ broader plan to expand and enhance its services within the Solana network, a platform known for its high-performance capabilities. The acquired IP includes advanced features like sophisticated liquidity provisioning, innovative trading strategies, and tools for the distribution, management, and analytics of decentralized financial…
This week, sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) surged by 16.8% over last week, as per the most recent statistics on digital collectibles. The Ethereum blockchain led the charge among 21 blockchains, capturing the top spot with sales totaling $148.49 million, marking a substantial increase of 99.08%. Digital Collectibles on the Rise: Ethereum Tops $148M in NFT Sales This Week This week saw another uptick in NFT sales, building on the 3.74% increase observed last week. In the latest count, NFT transactions reached $277.79 million across 21 different blockchain platforms, marking a 16.8% rise. Conversely, the number of NFT buyers plummeted…
A massive Ethereum (ETH) whale has withdrawn 71,332 ETH worth $182 million since February 1. The accumulation happened amid a bull rally in the cryptocurrency market, with ETH up nearly 25% since the first purchase. On February 15, the massive Ethereum whale withdrew 1,831 ETH from Binance and Bybit, worth $5.07 million. Finbold retrieved this data from the SpotOnChain Platform less than three hours after the withdrawals, which lasted 20 minutes. In total, the whale has withdrawn 71,332 ETH from Binance, Bybit, Bitfinex, and OKX in February alone. In particular, onchain data shows an average price of $2,557 per ETH,…
Given his generally bearish attitude and ability to see movements few others can, most dramatically demonstrated with ‘The Big Short’ in the context of the 2008 crash, new 13-F filings by Michael Burry and Scion Asset Management are always exciting to see. The previous record, for example, revealed a $4.3 million bet on the Chinese technology giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), a wager against the semiconductor industry in the middle of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, but also a highly lucrative investment in a car-producing multinational corporation. The latest filing similarly provides insight into several interesting developments and a string of…
After Starknet saw a surging number of active wallet addresses around last week’s airdrop announcement, the number has fallen substantially in recent days as the actual drop approaches. The Starknet airdrop dominated the headlines last week, both for the ample size of the drop but also the frustration some community members felt once the finer details were revealed. Starknet is set to proceed with the airdrop tomorrow, February 20, and will distribute STRK tokens to almost 1.3 million eligible wallets. Last week’s news caused a huge spike in active addresses on Starknet, with the tally jumping from less than 20,000…
With spot bitcoin ETFs having attracted over 192,000 BTC since their approval on January 11, Bitcoin is once more the talk of the crypto world. While the expected interest from institutional investors has had a predictable effect on the asset’s price, it’s also led to an uptick in the fortunes of native Bitcoin-based applications. Bitcoin’s Layer-2 ecosystem has long played second fiddle to Ethereum’s. In fact, as Ethereum’s L2 kingdom was growing in strength, there was no equivalent on Bitcoin to speak of. That has all changed with the emergence of a slew of auxiliary networks and decentralized applications (dApps)…
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is on a rally, surpassing $65 billion in total value locked (TVL). With this accomplishment, DeFi is among the top five largest U.S. hedge funds in assets under management (AUM). On February 9, the total value locked in all DeFi protocols reached a multi-year high of $65.612 billion. Notably, the last time decentralized finance saw these numbers in TVL was in June 2022. This metric has currently surpassed the $64.658 billion of August 13, 2022, according to data from DefiLlama. Interestingly, this TVL accounts for 48% of stablecoins’ market cap of $136.408 billion at the time of…
Dapper Labs, one of the renowned blockchain companies in the NFT ecosystem, has reignited the NFT phenomenon ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl. According to reports, the NFT creator is taking advantage of the event to advertise promotional drops that coincide with the mega sporting event. Dapper Labs reportedly issued promotional packs of its “NFL All Day” digital collectibles during the playoffs in January. Following the promotion, the NFTs have recorded impressive sales, including a Tom Brady NFT that sold for $40,000. According to the company, another digital piece featuring quarterback Aaron Rodgers also fetched $34,000 in sales. Reports show that…